Theran and Aanbo quickly find an oak tree festooned with mistletoe in the trees at the edge of Ramne's grove, and they each help themselves to large sprigs of the fleshy green parasite. But they have to venture further to find any shamrock. As they wander about the village, Theran explains that clover is not the same thing as shamrock, or at least not exactly. They head east on the path toward the lake so they don't have to approach the Golden Grain Inn. Across from the abandoned farm the party has adopted as its base, a well-maintained farm stands. The druid and monk observe that the family of the farm has brought their animals out from the barn into a goat pen and a pig wallow. The goats are quite large, but the pig is titanic. Two little children play in the yard, but as soon as they notice Aanbo and Theran approaching, they leap to their feet and run inside. The adventurers feel their eyes on them the entire time they are walking past their farm. Rather, Theran continues, clover is a variety of shamrock, but there are other plants that are shamrocks, too.
They walk south on the cart track that leads to the back of the Slumbering Serpent Inn and toward another building, which they can see through the trees now is a water mill. As they walk down the drive, they see an older human man coming out of the Inn's outbuilding, staggering under the weight of a small cask. He sees the duo and calls out "Good day!" with a smile, but continues on with his burden. Aanbo points off the path toward the water's edge, where there is a patch of land that has grown with various plants and flowers, just a bit south of where the party found Myrtha asleep last night. Theran elaborates that "shamrock" is a category of plant. They notice a human boy, nearly pubescent, standing near the mill with his arms crossed, chin stuck out, and staring at the two strangers until they move out of sight. In among the trees by the water's edge, they get a good look at the large pond and frogs jump in the water at their approach. The water is placid, and coots slowly drift in the middle of the pond, occasionally diving for food. The hill on the other side topped by the temple seems to have a healthy vineyard on the hillside facing them, and trees line the path around the lake. It's lovely. Aanbo picks a sprig of sourgrass and chews on it meditatively, appreciating the moment.
Not every plant with three leaves is a shamrock, of course, Theran continues as they head back to the path. Mustard and hemlock grows tall to the north of the path, creating a thick screen between the village and the farmland beyond it. Theran observes that red clover is something that you'll often see on paths like this, as it is a favorite of horses. The two arrive at the entrance to the vineyard: there is a small, shabby farmhouse and barn here, dilapidated not from neglect like the abandoned farmhouse, but from constant wear and tear. There is an enormous rooster here and several hens scratching and pecking in the yard around a child barely old enough to stand (and smaller than the birds) who is absorbed in putting his hands in the dirt and sticking them in his mouth, one after another. The path turns south again, between a thick screen of willow trees on one side and the fairly steep slope of the hill on the other. The horses graze in their pastures, Theran elaborates in detail, and then later their droppings sprout new clover along cart tracks like this. The path leads past a very pretty, quaint little cottage with large, well-maintained flower gardens and actual glass windows. Theran stoops down and retrieves a fistful of shamrocks. Aanbo follows suit. As they head back to the abandoned farm, satisfied that they've made their presence known to several families in the village, Theran points to the flowers with the shamrocks and explains that it is called red clover because of the purplish color of the petals.
